Poker Playergames

The second of three World Series of Poker main event start days over the weekend saw 2,144 players register, but by the time the chips were bagged early Monday morning just 1,428 were still standing and will go through to Day 2.
At the close of play for Day 1b the largely unknown Trey Luxemburger was holding the chip lead for the day on 193,450, hotly pursued by nearest rival Sarkis Hakobian on 190,125.
Notable names going through to the next round include Marvin Rettenmaier, Erik Seidel, Matt Affleck, Vanessa Selbst, Mike McDonald, Scott Seiver, Allen Cunningham and former Main Event winners Dan Harrington and Huck Seed.
Also going through are Brandon Shack-Harris, David Williams, Phil Galfond, Jeff Madsen, Jonathan Little, celebrity players Ray Romano and Kevin Pollak and NASCAR's Jason White.
Out for this year are Chris Moorman, Bertrand Grospellier, Joseph Cheong, Andy Black, Paul Volpe, David Sands, Scott Clements, Vivek Rajkumar, Dan Shak, Kevin Saul, Dan OBrien, Frank Kassela, Philipp Gruissem and Robert Mizrachi.
Officials expect a very large field for the final start day today at Day 1c amid unofficial reports that over 3,000 registrations have already been achieved. Some big names expected to take their seats for 1c include Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and previous WSOP main event champs Joe Cada and Joseph Hachem.
One notable absence will be the legendary Doyle Brunson, who has tweeted that he will not be entering.

bwin.party digital entertainment plc (bwin) has said it is in the final stages of discussions with Spanish professional football c Apuestas Deportivas lub Real Madrid in an extension of their long-standing relationship which will see the two become official digital partners in a new multi-year deal.

The new digital partnership will follow the end of bwins six-year shirt sponsorship which the company said had been fundamental in establishing it as a leading online gaming brand in Europe.

The move to a digital partnership reflects a shift in consumer behaviour leading to bwin's sponsorship strategy focusing on social media, social gaming, online and mobile integration said a company statement.

Under the terms of the yet to be finalised deal, bwin will be positioned at the centre of promotional activities for the popular football club with integration of the bwin brand into Real Madrid's website, social media and mobile apps. Other initiatives will include the creation of co-branded gaming products, match day perimeter board signage and access to player for marketing campaigns.

Our decision not to renew the shirt sponsorship brings to an end one chapter in our relationship with Real Madrid which has delivered six highly successful years of brand promotion for bwin on the shirts of one of the worlds truly global football brands. We now look forward to beginning the next chapter by leveraging our brand strengths to drive revenue and create premium content for our customers and Real Madrids millions of followers. We remain committed sponsors and wish Real Madrid every success in the clubs pursuit of more trophies, said Norbert Teufelberger, chief executive officer of bwin.

Florentino Perez, President of the Real Madrid Club added: "Our partnership with bwin.party as our shirt sponsor has been very constructive and beneficial for both parties. We are pleased to have contributed to the success of the bwin brand and are grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and share experiences with one of the most dynamic and innovative companies.

Italian operator Gamenet Italy has signed up for the Inspired Gaming Group's virtual sports for the Italian market.

Unde bingo onlineapuestas futbol r the terms of the deal Gamenet customers will be able to bet on Inspired virtual events using Gamenet's own online platform at Gamenet.com as well at through over 100 retail betting shops in Italy.

Inspired has entered the Italian authority AAMS' homologation process following legislation that legalised fixed-odds bets on virtual sports events online. The company expects to have its products go live in July 2013.

Steve Rogers, Managing Director of Inspireds Virtual Sports division, commented: This is a very special moment for the new Virtual Sports market in Italy and for Inspired. Our years of experience worldwide have demonstrated that our virtual sports products generate incremental revenues for sports betting operators across all channels. Our premium content package continues to deliver revenues far in excess of those of our competitors. We supply our virtual sports to many of the worlds most successful gaming companies and were delighted to announce Gamenet as a new customer.